Membrane fouling is a process whereby a solution or a particle is deposited on a membrane surface or in membrane pores in a process such as in Membrane Distillation (MD) and Reverse Osmosis (RO), resulting in degraded performance of the membrane. Membrane fouling can cause severe flux decline and affect the quality of the water produced. Severe fouling can even result in intense chemical cleaning or membrane replacement. This in turn increases the energy consumption of the water treatment plant and reduces the process efficiency.